Stranger Things Cars Came from This All-Women Car Casting Agency

If you’re a fan of Netflix’s Stranger Things, you must have noticed the almost painful attention to detail to re-create the nostalgia of the ‘80s, from the clothes and hairstyles, music, home décor, jargon and, last but not least, cars. Vehicles were and will always be an intrinsic part of our life, and no TV show or movie can be a convincing period piece without getting that part right.

This is where Y’allywood Film Cars comes in. It’s like a union-type of agency, a group that puts together owners of vintage and classic cars, who want to get their babies on the big or small screen. For its part, Y’allywood Film Cars makes sure that the owners get paid what they’re due, including for use of the car and precision driving (which the owners themselves do), and that they’re not being bled dry by a regular casting agency that has no idea of the kind of work and effort that goes into maintenance of such a vehicle.

The founder of Y’allywood Film Cars is one Beth Aylward, a former actress turned mechanic and car collector. Her vehicles have already been shown in key scenes on Stranger Things, like the battle of Starcourt Mall and scenes shot at the pool: pause and squint, and you will see her green 1961 Rambler American or her 1969 Plymouth Valiant dubbed Howdy.

Aylward’s partners, Jeana Lopeman and Stacy Frasure, are also car aficionados and avid collectors. Lopeman’s 1972 Mercury Cougar and 1989 white Jeep Grand Wagoneer have also made plenty of appearances on the hit Netflix series. The 3 women are often on set with the cars, driving them and making sure no harm comes to them. They also serve as mechanics, even though they’re still very much aware of the looks they get when they recommend themselves as such.

As Lopeman puts it in a recent interview with Atlanta Magazine, they’re still operating in a man-dominated industry, so they’ve grown familiar with getting strange looks. At their age, they’ve started to become amused by them, especially since they know they can use this kind of mistrust to their advantage.

“It is a field mostly dominated by men,” Lopeman explains. “During car shows, I surprise men when I talk shop with them and know a thing or two about what’s under the hood – or when I go to the parts store, or into old car yards for parts. All those places are mostly men’s domain.”



She believes their little enterprise will represent a “change:” “a foot in the door with a step forward for women.”

The thing is, though, that Y’allywood Film Cars is anything but little. Initially started as a Facebook group that connected vintage and classic car owners and helped them get fair rates for their appearances in movies (car included, of course), it now counts over 200 members. Some of them have more than 25 cars in their individual private collections, and they also have access to small planes, boats and bikes, in addition to vintage firetrucks, gorgeous classics, rescue vehicles and campers.

In short, this is one casting agency that can cater to any need a TV or film producer might have in terms of getting decade-specific vehicles and the people to operate them safely. They do not provide vehicles for stunts, however: these beauties are not meant to get smashed up, but only to be gazed upon and duly adored.

“I have a union state of mind in me,” Aylward tells the same publication. “I come with a union mentality, telling people, ‘Your car is valuable. Your car is worthy, and you are worthy’.”